Heat (Rewriten)
by Danny Hellcat
Summary: A rewrite of my old unfinished fanfic. When an unknown teen, likely homeless, is found bleeding and sick he's taken to the best hospital and is seen by Dr. House. House is taken in by the new puzzle he's given. But will he have time to solve it?
1. Blood

**I'M NOT DEAD YET!**

 **Hey there all you lovers of Monty Python and of my fics. Sorry for the long wait, if you wish to read the full statement please go to my author's page.**

 **In the meantime: Standard Disclaimer!**

Chapter One: Blood

It all came back to him rather slowly. Opening his eyes Jack looked up at the dark sky. Snowflakes drifted down gently through the wind. He was laying down in an ally that wasn't too far from the road. Getting up he nearly fell back down as the world tilted. Leaning against the wall Jack notice that his staff was missing.

Then it came back to him. Mostly.

He was flying around planning to gain new believers. North had just informed him that some big event called the VeilFall was going to cause spirits to become visible. This occurred for an unknown amount of time every couple of thousand years. Jack planned to have fun during this time. That was when he was attacked.

His memories got fuzzy after that. Pain radiating through his body. Moving forward Jack exited the ally and was nearly hit by a passing police car. The car lights nearly blinded him. They dimmed as one of the officers got out of the car and came over to Jack who was about to fall over.

"Kid, are you okay?" The officer asked the spirit. Jack didn't answer the cop. Instead he lost feeling in his legs. Falling down he nearly lost conscience.

"Call an ambulance!" The officer yelled to his partner. Staying with Jack the first officer tried to slow the bleeding down. "Stay with me kid. Okay, stay with me."

The world faded away as Jack eyes closed.

 **A/N: Hey there. I am sorry and ashamed of the fact that I haven't written anything since high school. From here on out I plan to change that. From now on I will only publish what I finish. This fic will be fully published by the end of the day. In the mean time:**

 **HAPPY NEW YEAR!  
**


	2. New Case

Chapter Two: New Case

The sun shined down on the scenic hospital as a rather hungover House limped in through the front door. Making his way towards the elevators he was joined by Dr. Cuddy, dean of medicine. A file in her hand, House knew what was coming. Waiting for the elevator Cuddy pounced.

"You got a case." She opened and the verbal dual began.

"No I don't." House retorted. The doors slide open and the two doctors stepped on continuing the conversation.

"14 to 17 year was brought into the ER last night. Lacerations across his chest and severe hypothermia. He was found without shoes so it's likely he's homeless."

"Stitch up the wounds and give the kid a warm blanket." House told her as they moved up.

"Already have, but his condition got worse." Cuddy told him as the doors opened. She followed him off into the hall.

"So?" House asked limping towards his office. Cuddy however wasn't going to let it.

"I'll give you two days off clinic duty." Cuddy bargained with him. House paused and then took the file from her.

"New victim for the ticking clock?" He asked. Cuddy refused to grace that question with an answer. Leaving House behind she made her way back to her ground floor office. House meanwhile stepped into his two-room office.

Cameron, Chase, and Foremen were sat around the table waiting for their painkiller addicted boss. Speak of the devil, House made his appearance known throwing his backpack onto Chase. Sitting down at the head of the table. Putting his cane off to the side he opened the file.

"Homeless teenager," He started. "Was brought into the ER last night cold and bleeding."

Throwing the file onto the table House got back up, walked over to the whiteboard and wrote:

 _Homeless Kid_

 _14-17 yrs._

 _Low BP_

 _Fever-like state_

"Fever like?" Chase asked looking at the board. House twirled the marker answering. "Kid had hypothermia. ER treated it and his temp is nearly normal, but he's been incoherent."

"Maybe it is a fever." Chase suggested. "An infection he got out there or here."

"His temp still low." Foremen countered.

"Or," Chase fought back. "His temp lower than it really is and his fever brought it up so it looks close to normal."

"Hmmm." House mused aloud for a bit. "Possible."

"House." Foremen went to protest.

"Do a lumbar puncture." House ordered now limping away to his personal office.

"Why are we taking this case?" Foremen asked while his co-workers got up. Chase and Cameron froze and decide to see what would happen.

"Cuddy wanted me to." House answered rather honestly. Rolling his eyes Foremen got up and left with his co-workers. If there was a game here he wanted no part in it.

"I feel hungry." House said to no one and proceeded to track down Wilson.

Wilson was in his much smaller office enjoying a sandwich as he filled out paperwork. He was enjoying the peace until his door opened reveling his odd friend. Not even looking up he acknowledged the other man.

"Hey." Wilson greeted.

"Hey." House stated as he stile a part of Wilson's food before crashing onto the sofa. Popping more pills he started his rant.

"Cuddy's found a new victim for her ticking clock." House informed him. Looking up from his paperwork Wilson took a moment to produce his comeback. In the end all that came was a simple:

"Okay?" Wilson asked a bit puzzled about his strange friend's rant. "And?"

"And that's it." House finished.

"That's it?' Wilson questioned rather bluffed this time by the lack of rant. "No long winded speech about it?"

"Nope." House answered nonchalantly.

"Okay." Wilson said going back to his paperwork.

"Okay."

 **-Meanwhile-**

Jack was curled up in a small ball, but his mind was a bit hazy as to why. It was too hot for him in the room. Opening his eyes a bit he could see into the hall past the shutters. People were walking past or in some cases wheeling other people.

 _"Wait,"_ Jack thought sluggishly. _"I've seen something like this before. It's a hospital. Why am I in a hos-"_

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden sharp pain in his back. It was as if a needle was being forced into his spine. Letting out a very manly scream (He would later say in his defense) Jack went to jump out of the bed and fly out only to be stopped and held down by two doctors.

"Calm down!" One of them yelled.

"Hold him still!" Someone yelled behind him.

"We're trying!"

Weak from the heat Jack was unable to put up an effective struggle against the doctors.

"Got it!"

They then let go of him allowing Jack freedom of movement again. Rolling out of the bed a female doctor held him up.

"Are you okay?" She (Cameron) asked.

"Too hot." Jack let out getting his footing back. The moment he was steady the immortal teen made a bolt for it. However he was stopped by another doctor (Chase) before he could get to the door.

"Too hot!" Jack tried to yell, it cam out weak. "Too hot!"

"Get him back in bed." Someone ordered. Before he knew it Jack was back in the bed and once again he went to leave only to be held down, again.

"Letmego!" Jack ordered using what very little strength he had left to fight. That was until sleep overcame him and he crashed.


	3. Thinking Over

Chapter Three: Thinking Over

"You didn't have to sedate him." Cameron complained to Foremen as the trio walked back to the office. House was waiting in there for them. Before they could sit down at the table House began.

"So what do we have?" House asked showboating with his cane and ball a bit. "And by we, I mean you guys?"

"No infections or viruses of any kind." Chase informed his boss.

"Perhaps he has a neurological issue that's messing with his temp?" House mentioned looking at the board.

"Hmmm, it is possible. A tumor maybe." Foremen answered.

"Now if only we had a patient history." House stated.

"We could ask the patient," Cameron went off. "If Foremen didn't sedate him!"

House looked as if he had been smacked and looked over at Foremen with puppy eyes.

"The kid was trying to leave and overexerting himself." Foremen reasoned. "It was for the kid's sake."

"His sake?!" Cameron questioned sounding scandalized by Foremen's statement. "He just woke up and was confused. How could it be for his sake?"

"Cameron!' House butted. "It was for his sake."

Cameron in return just glared at him. Ignoring her House turned back to the whiteboard looking over the symptom list.

"If the kid has something wrong with his brain," House spoke before turning around to face his team again. "Get a CT, MRI, fMRI, the works!"

As the team left they passed Wilson who came in and followed House to his desk.

"If you want me to take a case, I already got one." House told him trying to ward off Wilson's morality speeches. It didn't work.

"Why did you take this case?" Wilson inquired suspicious of House's actions of today. "A kid with fever-"

"Fever with no known cause." House interjected.

"Still," Wilson argued. "You only take cases from Cuddy when they interesting or Cuddy makes an offer you can't refuse."

"She offered a two days off clinic duty if I took the case. Simple case for free time." House told Wilson as he switched his soaps on.

"And that's all?" Wilson prodded. "A simple favor for free time? Nothing else?'

"Yep."

"Huh."

 **-Elsewhere-**

Braving the winter wind Babytooth searched for Jack. The two were supposed to meet up hours ago for 'personal reasons' only for Jack to miss it. Her and her sisters (who could spare the time) were out hunting for their favored spirit.

So far they found nothing.

Flying around New Jersey Babytooth and her sisters were thankful for their small size. The Veilfall event meant that anyone could see magical beings. While some such as North and Jack could pass for human, beings like Bunny and Tooth would cause a frenzy. Or just mistaken as cosplayers. For her attention. One of the two.

Babytooth was pulled out of her thoughts by one of her siblings chirping for her attention. Following her sister down to an alley below them. Hovering a foot above the ground the small fairy saw their first clue in the search for Jack.

Laying in the alley among the garbage was a crooked shepherd's staff. Jack's staff.

Spreading out they flew around looking for leads. There were imprints in the snow in the shape of a body that was followed by footprints leading out of the alley to the street. Blood stained the prints and sank into the snow. Crime scene tape blocked off the opening of the alley. Keeping a low profile the mini tooth fairies listened for any sound of humans, any mention of Jack, while some of their sisters went to get Tooth.


	4. Waking Up

Chapter Four: Waking Up

Tooth hovered nervously around Santoff Claussen while below her the guys were gathered. Bunny was waiting impatiently for North, who was flipping through one of his books and Sandy was, well, Sandy.

"No,hmmm, no." North mumbled flipping through the book. "Wait!"

The other three guardians tuned their attention to North waiting for the answer.

"Oh, sorry. No." North stated before going on with his search. The apology was drowned out by the collective groan of the guardians.

"Come on!" Bunny snapped. The situation was getting to him. Frostbite had gone missing sometime last night and they were aware of this now.

"How hard is it to locate a spirit?!"

Sandy pictures flashed above Sandy's head as he explained to Bunny meanwhile Bunny was trying to get a look at North's book.

"WHOA!" North move the book out of Bunny's reach. However E. Aster Bunnymund, Guardian of Hope, was not easily discouraged. The two spirits quickly got into a fight that was getting out of hand fast.

"Stop it you two!" Tooth yelled at them as Sandy pulled them apart. "We need to find Jack and you two aren't helping!"

North and Bunny looked up at Tooth and then back at each other. A second later they stepped away from each other and apologized. The two went back as if nothing happen.

While they waited for North to find the spell he was searching for one of Tooth's mini fairies came flying in chirping away. Everyone there looked up at the new fairy who acted rather manic. Tooth flew up and they conversed.

"Babytooth found a lead!" Tooth yelled spinning around in the air.

"Where?" Bunny shouted up at his friend.

"I don't know!" Tooth admitted stopping mid spin. Flying down she stopped in front of the others."Babytooth heard an officer talking about finding a teen who looks like Jack they took to the hospital-"

"Which hospital?1" North asked, his thick accent nearly observing his words.

"That's what Babytooth finding out!"

 **-Elsewhere far, far away-**

Babytooth zipped through the air undaunted by the snow falling. She was determined to reach her destination no matter what. The little fairy had hung around the alley waiting for one of the officers to say something and her waiting had paid off in the end. One of the officers talked about the case with their partner and mentioned where they had been taken.

Princeton-Plansboro Teaching Hospital.

Babytooth was coming up on the building. An old building that had been added onto over time. Snow covered yet defiantly alive in the cold landscape. Descending down to the windows Babytooth flew by each one only stopping to hover for a few seconds to look in at the patients. Checking to see which one was Jack.

Finally after checking at least two dozen windows Babytooth finally found her dear friend. Phasing through the window Babytooth flew over and landed on top of Jack. The winter spirit was unresponsive to his miniature friend and groupie's chirps.

Giving out a sad chirp, Babytooth got closer and touched the immortal boy. He was warm. For anyone else it wouldn't be bad, but for someone like Jack he was ob fire. Flying up Babytooth grabbed a lock of Jack's hair and pulled on it.

Opening his eyes in response to the pain Jack as confused at the appearance of Babytooth.

"Babytooth?' He slurred looking at the fairy. "How?"

Examining Jack, Babytooth as worried. Whatever happened Jack was hurt and needed help. Chirping a quick goodbye and "I'll be back" Babytooth flew back out through the widow just in time to avoid the doctors.

Chase and Foremen entered the room unaware of what they had just missed. Walking in the two men prepared to move Jack.

Chase noticed that Jack was now awake. Quickly coming over Chase tried to talk to him.

"Hey," Chase started as he did a quick check of the patient. "Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

"Where Babytooth go?" Jack asked unaware of Dr. Chase's questions.

Looking at Foremen Chase silently questioned the patient's condition. Foremen just shrugged and they went on moving Jack out of the room for the tests.


	5. Family

Chapter Five: Family

Cuddy sat in her office doing everything in her power to keep the hospital running as smoothly as she could. Currently she was going through potential donors for the hospital. A quarter of the way through her phone rang.

"Hello?" She answered. It was the nurses at the front desk calling her.

"Dr. Cuddy," The one on the phone started. "We have a man here saying his son is a patient here."

"Send him to my office please." Cuddy ordered. A few moments later a large man in a red coat and a fur cap squeezed into her office.

"Hello." The man greeted with a thick Russian accent. Reaching into his coat he pulled out a photo and handed it to Cuddy.

"I'm Nickolas North," The man, Mr. North, introduced himself. "My son, Jack, is a patient here. "I've been told."

Cuddy looked at the photo. A teenage albino was on it. The very same one that was brought in the last night to the ER. The hospital had contacted the local authorities and gave them the needed info to find the boy's guardian and here he was in front of here.

"Yeah," Cuddy responded as she handed the photo back. "You're son was brought in the last night. According to the police report he was attacked and suffering from hypothermia. Currently he's receiving treatment from one of our best doctors."

"May I see? Please?" North asked desperate to get to Jack.

"Follow me." Cuddy told him leading the way out of her office.

 **-Meanwhile-**

Cameron, Chase, and Foremen were running Jack through the MRI. Image after image of Jack's brain appeared on the screen. Nothing appeared wrong to their eyes.

"Nothing here." Foremen stated examining the screen. Leaning back in the chair the man mused thinking over the facts.

"Maybe there's an issue with his immune system." Cameron offered. "We should do a white cell count. If there is a disease then the immune system may not being fighting it."

"Seems like a reach." Chase committed.

"There has to be something." Cameron stated.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." A voice filtered through the intercom connecting the MRI to station.

"Hold on, we'll get you out." Cameron told him. The MRI's bed moved out letting Jack out of thee machine. He rolled over groaning. The three doctors came over, Cameron hovered over him in an attempt to steady him.

"Hurgh..." Jack let out before he vomited. Partly digested food and bile landed on Cameron's shoes and the surrounding floor.

"Damn." Cameron muttered in reaction to her ruined shoes.

"I'll call a janitor." Chase offered up. Leaving Cameron and Foremen he opened the door. That was when Jack sprung into action. Taking his chance Jack nearly jumped away from the table taking Foremen and Cameron by surprise and bolted out past Chase into the halls.

"Get him!" Foremen yelled as the three raced after Jack.

Running through the hospital Jack proved to be difficult to keep up with let alone catch. He dodged nurse, orderlies, and hospital security. Nimbly avoiding everyone Jack nearly avoided North. If North hadn't had centuries of practice dealing with high speed problems he would have missed the winter spirit.

"Jack!" North bellowed as he lifted the boy off the floor.

"Wha-" Jack was thrown off by North. There was a twitch in his finger that grew into a twitchy hand, not that north noticed. Jack on the other hand felt off as if something was about to happen.

"He's over here!" Someone said as three doctors ran up to North. "Thank you."

"Not a problem." North told them. "Was looking for my son anyway."

"Your son?" Cameron inquired.

"This is Mr. North." Cuddy introduced. "The guardian of John Doe here."

"Oh." Chase stated rather surprised.

"I feel funny." Jack told North. His twitching was worse.

"Set him down now!" Foremen ordered hurriedly.

"What, why?" North asked, curious at the sudden demanded. Suddenly Jack began to twitch and shake all over. His eyes rolled into his head. Scared North set him down without protest.

"We need help!' Foremen shouted as one of them went for med equipment.

Jack was having a seizure.


	6. Diagnose

Chapter Six: Diagnose

"So we have a new symptom." House stated as he wrote on the whiteboard. Stepping away he allowed the team to view the board:

Homeless Kid

14-17 yrs.

Low BP

Fever-like state

Seizure

"Any ideas?" House opened.

"We should get the family history." Chase told them.

"Kid was brought in with no one." House retorted.

"The man who caught our patient is the father." Cameron told her boss. "And Mr. North is demanding that we release his son Jack immediately."

"Has anyone told him his son is sick?" House questioned.

"That's what Cuddy is doing right now." She informed him.

"Great." House stated sarcastically.

"So what causes a recovering hypothermia patient to have fever without illness and neurological symptoms?" Foremen asked trying to keep the on track.

Looking over the board House was nearly silent. A small 'hmm' filled the air around him. The team waited to see what House was about to do.

"Let's see the parent!" House (finally) announced. Dr. House limped out of the office to the elevator. Chase, Cameron, and Foremen followed their boss as he made his way downstairs.

"You're not going to harass the father are you?" Cameron asked breaking the silence.

"Oh, please," House retorted. "I'm gonna grill him about any medical history concerning his son."

"House." Cameron warned. She wasn't looking forward to this.

"What?" House asked innocently. "I'm just gonna get a medical history so we can save the kid."

Stepping off the elevator the four doctors walked to Cuddy's office. There the dean of medicine was trying to reason with North about keeping Jack in the hospital.

"Mr. North-" Cuddy was in the midst of her argument.

"Dr. Cuddy, I understand your concern." North interrupted. "But my son needs to go home."

"Hey!" House said once he entered the room leaving his team outside the office. "Does your son have a history of neurological disorders, cancers, or anything else?"

"And you are?" North questioned the man.

"Your son's doctor." House told him. "You know someone who is trying to save the kid."

The condescending tone of House didn't sit well with North. That and what he said, as if he didn't care about Jack. It all came out.

"I AM TRYING TO SAVE JACK!" North yelled. "THIS PLACE IS GOING TO KILL HIM1"

Pause.

"What?" House asked a bit weird out. He looked towards Cuddy whose eyes shifted between the two men before explaining.

"Mr. North, before you barged in, was explaining his son's unique conduction." She told him. North took this as his que to explain Jack's 'medical condition.'

"My son," North started with the story they made. "He's always cold. Always. I've taken him to doctors and they never found anything to explain it. But my son lives a normal life. Except he can't take much heat."

House just stared at the an as if daring him to go on.

"What?" House questioned finally. Instead of North answering Cuddy cut in.

"I called their normal doctor who confirmed it." Cuddy stated hoping to shortcut the House argument. "Your patient is to be taken off the treatment for hypothermia and cooled off."

From outside the office House's team looked in wondering what would their future be.

"What do you think gonna happen?" Cameron asked the other two.

"I hope they convince the father to keep the kid here." Foremen told them.

"Fifty bucks says the father tries to move the patient." Chase offered looking to profit a bit.

"You're on." Foremen replied. Might as well go with it. Both men received a glare from Cameron, however it was interrupted by House suddenly leaving the office. He didn't stop at the door and instead limped back to the elevator with his team in tow.

"House?' foremen asked on the way.

"Remove all the heating pads and whatnot from the kid." House ordered.

"Cuddy's letting the father take the kid home?!" Foremen asked scandalized.

"Where you get that idea?" House questioned puzzled.

"You just said-" Foremen started only to be cut off by his boss.

"I said the patient had to be taken off treatment, not that he was being let go." He told them.

"The father agreed to stay?" Chase asked.

"Nope." House told them as they entered the office.

"What?" Cameron asked.

"We're gonna stop treatment, but we're gonna do whatever we can to keep the patient." House informed them. Erasing the whiteboard House then began to write new info:

'Frozen Kid'

17 yrs old

Low BP

No body heat

"What?" Foremen asked as they read the board.

"In Cuddy's office the father told us that the kid has a condition," House explained. "Rather then give off heat the kid give off heat the kid gives off cold."

"That goes against the laws of nature!" Foremen exclaimed. "This kid shouldn't be alive."

"You're right." House told them. "Science says this kid shouldn't be alive, so why is he?"

Silence filled the room as the team scratched their heads. No one said anything. Not even House. Then finally one of them broke the silence.

"Something genetic. A mutation maybe?" Chase offered.

"Someone call the X-men." House joked.

"Hey!" Chase defended his idea. "It's happened before. A man once was found with green blood."

"Yeah, but different color blood is one thing. Giving off a literal chill is something else entirely." House told them. "This kid's body is going against basic nature."

"Maybe we should start basic then." Cameron suggested. The men looked at her not saying a word.

"If your channeling me again-" House started.

"What I mean," Cameron explained. "Is if his body isn't acting normal then we should look and see if it has a different normal."

A grin broke across his face as House looked at Cameron thinking it over.

"I like it."


	7. Coming Around

Chapter Seven: Coming Around

Opening his eyes Jack found himself feeling better than before. More coherent, steady, and at a more comfortable temperature than before. He still felt a bit worn out, but he still felt rather stir crazy.

Looking around the room Jack saw he was alone for the moment. Taking the opportunity he escaped. Leaving the room behind the incarnation of winter wondered the halls. Remembering that he could be seen for the time being Jack resolved to be careful so he wouldn't draw attention to himself.

Traveling through the halls he stopped when he found a room full of children. Quite a few of them were bald and seemed a bit worn out. Jack had lived long enough to know what cancer was and the signs of it.

While he wanted to escape from the hospital, he had a duty as one of the Guardians of Childhood, of Fun, he was needed here for them. So without further ado Jack entered the cancer ward playroom.

Stepping inside he walked over to one of the sadder ones, a small boy hiding in the corner. Sitting next to him Jack struck up a conversation.

"Why the long face?" Jack asked.

"Because I'm gonna die." The boy answered.

"We all die at some point, but until then you're better off to make the most of life." Jack told him.

"But Mom won't come by anymore to play." The boy replied.

"If she won't, then why not others?" Jack asked.

"I don't know anyone else."

"Then how about you get to know about me and I can play with you?" Jack asked as he conjured up some of his special snow. It landed on the boy who's mood brighten up from it.

"OK, I'm named TJ and I'm seven." The boy, TJ, started.

"I'm named Jack and I'm a bit older than you." Jack spoke in a tone meant to tease.

"No fair!" TJ replied. "How old are you?"

"318." Jack answered honestly only TJ refused to believe it.

"Lair!" TJ spoke.

"Takes one to know one!" Jack courted.

"No one's 318!" TJ put in.

"Sure?' Jack asked.

"Yes." TJ answered taking the bait.

"Positive?" Jack asked.

"Yes, I'm positive!" TJ replied.

"Only fools are positive!" Jack answered.

"Hey!" TJ yelled before hitting Jack with a stuffed animal.

"Hey!" Jack retaliated throwing a bear at him. Before long the rest of the room joined in.

 **-Elsewhere-**

Foremen, Chase, and Cameron were searching the floor for their lost patient. They had gone to Jack's room to follow through on House's orders only to be stunned when they found the room empty. Now in a frantic search they hoped they found him before long. They found Wilson staring into the children's cancer ward where as it turned out their patient was. Looking in the watched as Jack was tackled by the other children. Through the walls they could hear the laughter.

"I wondered where Jack went." A voice came from behind them. The doctors jumped and turned around to see North right behind them. How did such a large man sneak up behind them?

Pushing past them North entered the room. Wilson, Chase, Foremen, and Cameron followed North in. There in the room the other children had just brought Jack to his knees. North couldn't help but smile at the sight. Truly Jack had a gift with children. However gift or not, Jack couldn't stay forever.

"Come," North spoke gaining Jack's attention. "You are to be in bed."

As it was Jack was not only one to protest.

"No fair!" Several tiny voices filled the room. The children wanted to keep their playmate.

"Can't he stay?'

"Please!"

"He got TJ to stop mopping!"

Wilson felt a twig of happiness at that part. TJ, despite being only seven years old, understood his illness a little too well. No matter what anyone tried TJ remained depressed. Now TJ wasn't just smiling, but laughing!

"Beds are boring!" Jack spoke up in reply to North.

"You were sick. Need rest." North told Jack as he got up. The children clung to his legs.

"Sorry, but I got to go." Jack told them.

"Awwww!"

"I'll drop by before leaving." jack promised. Several cries of "Yay!" filled the room. Once out into the hall Jack quickly asked the most important question he had on his mind.

"When can I leave?" He directed the question at North.

"As soon as possible." North told him.

"Mr. North," Foremen opened his mouth. "Your son still recovering from the heat stroke. He should be observed for a day before we release him to make sure he alright."

"I feel fine." Jack told them as they arrived at his room. Sitting down on the bed Jack wouldn't stop fidgeting or swinging his legs.

"Even so," Foremen told him putting on a friendly face. "We would like to be sure."

"Sure," Jack told them. "Whatever you need."


	8. Moving On

Chapter Eight: Moving On

"Jack you can't stay." North told the boy after the doctors left. They had taken a few samples for biopsies. The second the two spirits were alone North informed Jack of the cover story and the plan which was pretty much just 'Get the hell out of here!'

"I know." Jack told North garbing the change of cloths that were brought. "I was just telling them what they wanted to hear. Do you really think I want to spend more time here?"

"With you it's possible." North told him giving Jack the 'look'. Jack smiled as he went to get changed.

"Where's my staff?' Jack asked from the bathroom.

"Back at the pole." North explained to him. "Found it in alley. From what I heard...Jack were you attacked?"

Silence rang out as North waited for Jack's response. It went on long enough that North became worried. Then finally Jack answered his question.

"I think so." Jack said as he exited the bathroom dressed normally. Hospital gowns did him no justice. "I don't remember it to well. It happened pretty fast."

"Jack." North said trying to comfort Jack.

"I think it might have been Bloody Bones," Jack told North. "But I'm not sure."

"Don't worry," North assured the younger spirit, even putting a large hand on Jack's shoulder. "You're okay."

 **-Elsewhere-**

Toiling away in one of the labs, House's team were busy running every test they could on the samples. Test after test after test. They were so busy they didn't notice their boss barging in.

"What'ca got?" House asked joyfully. His team looked up tired from the workload.

"Nothing so far." Chase answered.

"That sucks." House stated strutting in.

"We're testing everything." Foremen told him. "Which takes a lot of time."

The team went back to work on the tests while House watched them. Taking a dose of his painkillers he let the wheels of his mind turn.

"We should get a whole body scan."

"You hate whole body scans." Cameron said looking up from the microscope.

"Yeah," House said as he turned to leave. "But this case, we can't leave anything out."

Leaving his team in the lab House walked to patient's room. On the way he was joined by Wilson.

"Still have a patient?" Wilson asked walking with his friend.

"Need to make sure the patient stable and all." House told Wilson.

"Unhuh." Wilson noted. "That's why you ordered every test known to man."

"The boy gives off cold instead of heat!" House told him.

"So you're gonna keep the kid here as a lab rat?" Wilson asked. "Should I call a shadow agency to help you in detaining him?

"Oh, please." House told Wilson. "If I needed them to help me-"

The patient's room was empty.

"Where my patient go?" House questioned as he and Wilson looked into the deserted room.

"Oh, I meant to tell you." Wilson told him. "I saw your patient back in the children's cancer ward."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" House asked.

"Didn't see a reason." Wilson joked as he left to go to his office. House on the other hand limped off to find his patient. Following Wilson's direction House found his patient right where Wilson said he be. The patient was playing with the children in the caner ward. Off in the corner of the room also engaging with the kids was the patients farther. Not even pausing for a moment House went in.

"Hey you with the tattoos." House called over to North. "I need to give your son a whole body scan."

"Why?" North asked.

"To make sure his organs and other systems are fine." House lied.

"No." North answered.

"Why?' House asked.

"We're not staying." North told the doctor. "Only here to keep promise to children."

"What?' House asked shocked.

"Something wrong?" Jack asked.

"Yeah you need a whole body scan." House told Jack.

"Not getting it." Jack told him smugly.

"Even though your life may be at stake?" House asked.

"But it doesn't." Jack told him. "Besides I'm leaving soon."

"Wha-?" House tried to reason.

"I'm fine now." Jack cut in. "I got reasons not to be here."

"Like what?" House questioned.

"Bring winter, close schools, have some fun, get a few more believers. That kind of thing." Jack told him.

"I'll make sure to add psych symptoms to your case." House retorted.

"Not crazy." Jack told him.

"If you are then you can't say you aren't." House told him.

"Don't matter." North told them. "Jack's underage, I'm his guardian. You can't do anything without my permission."

"No, but a court could believe your endangering your child." House said before leaving.


	9. See Ya!

Chapter Nine: See Ya!

"No!"

"Come on!" House told Cuddy. "All I did was call child services."

"On a father who's within his legal right to remove his son from the hospital!" Cuddy yelled at him.

"The father's just letting his kid walk out of here without letting us make sure the kid was okay. That's child neglect." House told her.

Cuddy just gave House a look of disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. House of all people! Then again knowing House this shouldn't have come as a surprise.

"You did this to keep the kid here so you can run tests in him." Cuddy retorted.

"This kid has a condition that defies science and the family couldn't explain it." House defended his motives.

"But their doctor-" Cuddy went to defend the family only for House to cut her off.

"Doesn't exist!" House told her. "I looked up the doctor who saw the kid for the body chill and he never existed."

"What?" Cuddy asked shocked by the revelation.

"There is no Dr. Aster and I went international in that search." House told her.

"Why?' Cuddy asked.

"Don't know why." House stated. "But I do want to find out why."

Cuddy mentally chewed over the situation. While the North family had the proper documents, the fact that the doctor they referenced was fake didn't sit well. Thinking over the probable fallout Cuddy turned towards House.

"Trend carefully." She told him.

"Don't I always?" He joked as he let himself out. Wilson was waiting outside for him.

"So," He started once House was with him. "How it go?"

"She told me to be careful." House answered.

"She wasn't mad you called social services?" Wilson inquired.

"She was until I told her that the family's doctor wasn't real." House supplied.

"So you get to keep playing mad scientist n the kid?" Wilson asked knowing his friend.

"Your tone implies you don't like this." House stated.

"Well-" Wilson was about to retort when he noticed his friend stopped. House was looking across the lobby towards the doors of the free clinic. The social worker who came was inside the clinic filling out a paper. Limping over House confronted her.

"Why are you doing here?" He asked. "The patient and his father are upstairs."

"I was in the room." The social worker explained. "Interviewing the teen and his father. It was going fine until...until.."

"Until what?" House asked, impatient with the woman.

"They disappeared!" She shouted at the two doctors. "Right in front of me! Just vanished!"

Wilson, listening to the woman didn't blame her for anything. So before House could, he intervened.

"Let's check upstairs." Wilson suggested.

"Yeah." House responded as he left the clinic. Wilson stayed behind for a bit to order a nurse to look after the social worker. Once that was done he joined House and they Traveled together to the patient's room.

"Call security." House ordered when they arrived at the empty room.

 **-An hour or so later-**

House sat in his office looking over all the paperwork from the tests his team had ran when they had a patient. Hospital security was unable to find the patient and his father. The social worker left after being cleared by the clinic (even though House gave her a psych referral), and his team finishing running their tests on the samples.

Going through the papers again House failed to find anything that could point to a condition, let alone one this bizarre. Nothing too high or low, no abnormal anything, and the results were cleaner than-

Thump!

A snowball hit the side of his head. Shocked by the hit House looked up and at where the snowball would have come from. There was no one there. His team was still busy and no one could have entered the office and left after throwing the snowball. Getting up he closed the distance between his desk and the glass wall. There was no one hiding in the main office. Baffled House almost didn't notice the drop in room temperature. He did notice the sudden appearance of frost on the glass wall.

It covered a sizable area as it spread across the see through surface. A fern pattern shaped it. Then the impossible happen.

Right before House's eyes, as if an invisible finger was running through it, writing formed:

'Nice Try'

Staring at f for a second House hen began to exam it. Muttering too himself possible methods of what was clearly a prank.

Jack, once again invisible, smiled at the scene unfolding before him. The doctor was trying to figure out how the frosty writing was being done. Chuckling to himself Jack thought about how to make this better.

Creating more frost on the glass was near the writing he began to doodle. It was simple one, a butterfly. Then pulling magic from it the butterfly became 3-D, separating itself from the window, and flew around the room. Then for one last laugh he flew the butterfly right on. House's. Nose.

House was now thoroughly freaked out. The frost butterfly was just sitting on his nose. How it was possible was beyond House. Not too long later the butterfly exploded into a thousand snowflakes.

"Huh." House let out. Then without further ado, he fled the room leaving Jack there laughing.

 **Kept my promise this time! I hope you guys enjoyed the fic. This was kind of a rush fighting this deadline.**


End file.
